were soon flung open and Justin and Michael rushed into the room, looking very panicked. As soon as they saw Theodore sprawled on the floor, they exchanged alarmed glances before rushing to join Connor at his side. They looked so concerned that Jessica’s heart turned over in her chest. These men genuinely liked each other.
“What the hell?” Justin demanded.
“I think it’s another traumatic episode,” Connor said. “I’m sure she did something to shock him or rile him,” he said, casting her a disgusted glance.
Her chin went up and she glared at him, “Go to hell.”
“But how can she be responsible? Theodore’s traumatic episodes are tied to—” Justin began.
Connor cut him off with an abrupt, “We know what the traumatic episodes are tied to.”
Michael chuckled, “You should know better than to try to bully her, Connor. If she were a pushover, she would never have interested Theodore in the first place.”
Michael rose to his feet and grabbed her shoulders, and held her gently, “Try to calm down. He’s alive, just unconscious, and we want to know what got him that way so we can help.”
She was trembling with anger at Connor, embarrassment at the situation and genuine fear for Theodore. Would he be all right? What was it about her that had put him in this state?
Michael shook her gently, drawing her attention back to him, “Hurry. There’s no time. Did you hit him over the head or something?”
Connor scoffed. “I would like to see her try that. Theodore can move faster than all five of us put together.”
Jessica stared into Michael’s kind face with pained eyes. “I would never hurt him. I would never try to hurt him.”
“Except, he is hurt. He wouldn’t be unconscious if he were fine,” Connor interrupted testily. “Now, tell me what the hell happened here.”
She swallowed and met Connor’s gaze head on. “We made love, okay? Once we were done, he fainted. Simple as that.”
The silence in the room would have deafened Silence itself. One minute, the room was silent as a tomb, and the next, male guffaws rang out all over the room. She stared at them in rising anger. They wouldn’t stop laughing and backslapping each other, though. They took no notice of her impotent fury.
“Shut up!” she yelled. “Theodore is fighting for his life, and you’re laughing? What sort of friends are you?”
“The sort who know that his reputation has been ruined beyond recall by this. He will never live this one down,” Michael gasped, tears running down his eyes.
“I can just picture Darryl’s face if he heard this one,” Justin laughed.
Connor was the first to collect himself, and he glared at Jessica, “You’ve done enough, Josephine. Please leave.”
“My name is Jessica, and I will do no such thing. If you honestly think I’ll leave, now, when he’s still unconscious, you’re mistaken. Besides, I’ve already called the cops,” she added.
The words were like a jolt of electricity. They stopped smiling at once and exchanged panicked glances before rushing into action as though they had been slapped. Connor grabbed Theodore easily without any effort and slung him over his shoulder before heading around a panel of books. She heard him slap something and a door whooshed open, but she couldn’t see where he was going. She started to follow them but Michael stepped in front of her with his kind eyes.
“I’m sorry but I won’t let you.”
She started to argue when, all of a sudden, a lax calmness fell over her. Michael’s golden eyes were burning like molten lava, now, and she heard his voice as though from a distance, “Go back to the party now.”
Like someone sleepwalking, Jessica turned around and did as she was told.
A few minutes later, the cops and medics burst through the door. Jessica stared at them in alarm as they began to ask for her. She came forward shakily.
“I’m Jessica Harris.”
“You made the 911 call to Dispatch, right? Where’s Cooper?”
“Right here,” his beloved voice announced, right behind her. Jessica spun around in shock. He was standing behind her, larger than life and healthy as you please.
The cops exchanged surprised glances, as did the medics. Then, one of them with Sheriff stenciled on his shirtfront ambled forward, one hand resting idly on his holster. “Well, looky here,” he drawled in a very Texan twang. “It would seem, reports of your … state of wellbeing were grossly misrepresented.”
He didn’t give Theodore a chance to respond, he spun on one heel to pin Jessica with an angry glance, “Did I